Letters to the editor for July 30, 2009

To the editor:
A DVD movie that every American should see is “Taking Chance.” It is a moving, true story of the fallen hero, 18-year-old Marine Chance Phelps. It chronicles the honor that is given to all soldiers who lose their lives in battle and their journey home to their families for burial. From the time the soldier arrives back in the United States, every fallen soldier has a dedicated escort officer who travels with him or her all the way home. Our fallen soldiers are never left alone. Our soldiers deserve this final tribute for the service they have given for all of us. It’s too bad not everyone has heard about this wonderful film. Now you have. Watch it and be a proud American.
Marcie Wells
Sonora

Fear tactic

To the editor:
Insurance and drug company lobbyists are using fear to defeat health care reform. Americans fear no choice of doctors, long waits, cuts in services and spiraling federal spending. I have good medical coverage and still have to wait. I must choose doctors from a list, my costs keep rising and the insurance provider must pre-approve medical procedures. The government’s medical costs have already spiraled out of control, causing cuts in services for roads, schools, emergency, police, etc. As defense contract lobbyists know, fear is a much better motivator than hope or change.
Americans without insurance need a public option negotiated by government using the clout of the collective number of people. Cost comparisons with the public option should also keep private coverage cheaper. More Americans without insurance because of layoffs, preexisting conditions and the cost of insurance are faced with choosing no insurance or catastrophic insurance only.
We have good doctors and nurses, but a bad delivery system with high administrative costs and exorbitant profit margins. Health care and drug company profits rise while most economic sectors continue to fall. We spend more per family for health care than housing or food. Are we going to continue to let health care consume our economy? Unions and private employers cannot compete in world markets as long as health care costs to rise. Many employers who have to choose between layoffs and reducing medical benefits are simply closing their doors.
Political pundits are already saying no reform will be passed. Something is wrong in Congress, the media or both. Insist your congressional representatives work diligently on meaningful reform now, before lobbyists can defeat it during a recess.
Michelle Raine
Sonora

DUI over-enforcement

To the editor:
Over-enforcement of driving-under-the-influence laws endangers us all. A lot of people still drink too much alcohol. The .08 rule is effective at curbing a good portion of boozers from over-imbibing and driving somewhere. Overzealous enforcement, however, puts drinkers on the road, many tens of thousands of the idiots nationwide, every darn day.
Why is this? Let’s look at the case of captain Bob, a successful ship captain who went partying, drank a tad too much and, instead of pestering the hosts, elected to sleep it off in his car. At midnight, Bob slithered into his down bag and calculated being sober enough to drive by 5 a.m. At 3 a.m., cops were banging on his hood, insisting he open the car. His car was stone cold, and the keys were not in the ignition. The police told him they had a report of his car weaving down the road nearby. He protested: “the car was stone cold, occifer.” The cops did a field sobriety test, breath test, and arrested Captain Bob.
A responsible ship captain does not jeopardize his credentials by getting a DUI. Lawyer after lawyer told him that fighting the courts was futility personified. His six-figure career was over for at least five years. The cops got their quotas and Bob now drinks and drives. So do millions more, precisely due to over-enforcement. Thirty or 40 years ago, the fuzz would bring Bob coffee at dawn. Laws become the people’s enemy far too often nowadays. What a conundrum.
Dave Maloney
Sonora